1969 Pontiac Firebird:Appraised Value & Depreciation

By
Alex Steele

Question:

I have just purchased a beautiful car. It's the '69 Firebird that I always wanted. It has 21,000 original miles and has sat under a cover in a garage for years. I recently had the car appraised and the current value is between five and six thousand. My question: Should I cover it up in storage, so as not to lose value or should I just drive for pleasure and not worry about the depreciation?

Answer:

The late sixties: Woodstock, Bellbottoms and some of the most breathtaking muscle cars that ever rolled off a Detroit assembly line. In my younger days I had a '69 Mustang 428CJ.

It sounds like this car means more to you than the profits you might make by letting her sit in storage for the next decade. Waiting on a classic car to gain value over time is a risky business. I'm sure there are some safer long-term investments out there. I think.

I've seen folks invest heart, soul and life savings into a car just to find out the $20,000 investment is worth about $5k, maybe.

Not being a business strategist, I believe buying a classic car should be for the sheer appreciation of the lost beauty that once traveled the American roads. The grace and simplicity of body lines and the raw horsepower under the hood does it for me.

Drive it, polish it, show it off, keep the dollar signs out of your head -- and do a burn out for me.